Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Former Oregon Duck Tommy Thorpe can't quite leave Oregon as his professional career begins

Tommy Thorpe, Tyler Slaton

Oregon starter Tommy Thorpe (27) pitches as Clemson's Tyler Slaton takes a lead off of second base during the first inning of an NCAA college baseball regional tournament game Friday, May 30, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Tommy Thorpe worked hard over his three years at Oregon with the goal of eventually leaving the program to see how he fared against the best competition in the world.

In the month since he's become a professional, the left-hander is having a hard time shaking free of his Northwest roots.

When he was promoted from the Arizona League to the short season single-A Boise Hawks, his second appearance was in Eugene at PK Park on the same mound that saw him blossom into Oregon's ace. A week later, between the seventh and eighth innings in Hillsboro, a fan won an on-field competition between the Ducks and Beavers that prompted the Hops' staff to play the Oregon fight song as Thorpe took the mound.

"I heard it. It pumped me up," said Thorpe, a Vancouver native who pitched three perfect innings to close out the game. "I almost felt like they did it on purpose. It did give me a little bit of an upper hand. Gave me a little more adrenaline."

At this point, batters might start pleading for no more advantages for Thorpe. Since joining the Hawks, the eighth-round Chicago Cubs draft pick is 1-0 with eight strikeouts, a 0.00 ERA and has yet to allow a hit. His success comes directly after a season at Oregon that saw the Ducks' Friday starter post an 11-4 record with a 2.14 ERA and 90 strikeouts.

On the surface, it looks like not much has changed for the Oregon-great. He's retiring batters like he did in Eugene. Friends and local media came out to his appearance against the Emeralds in Eugene. On Monday in Hillsboro, he ate dinner with his family and a large crowd congregated above the Hawks' dugout to cheer for him.

But there are some obvious changes. Some are little, such as the shorter seams on a professional baseball. Others are more stark. Thorpe had been a dominant starter for the Ducks for the last two years. Now, he's coming out of the bullpen for the first time since his freshman year with Oregon.

"It's been a lot of fun, actually," he said. "You get a little butterflies every time you go out. But when you get on the mound, it's game on and the nerves are gone. I think it's good to have those nerves still. I know that I'm good enough and what not, but I haven't made it anywhere yet. It keeps me on my toes. I know I have to work on things."

The other big change for Thorpe is his ability to call pitches. At Oregon, coach George Horton has a stranglehold on what's called and what's not. And if Thorpe ever shook off a sign Horton called, he joked that he better of been right. In the professionals, Thorpe said he and his catchers have the freedom to call the game as they see, and he's spent a lot of time developing that chemistry with his battery mate.

"It's almost like learning a new game for me," Thorpe said. "It's like a video game, being able to pick all your different pitches."

Off the field, Thorpe said he's adjusting to the pros just fine. He's living with a host family and is enjoying daily pre-planned meals. He's also significantly wealthier than he was in Eugene – he reportedly signed a $135,000 contract with the Cubs – but is doing his best to hold on to it.

"I'm trying to stay low and mind my money," he said. "These days I'm at the field 24/7. I don't have time to go buy anything."

Overall, the professional experience hasn't strayed too far away from what Thorpe envisioned it would be. Early on, Thorpe is proving that his decision to leave Oregon may have been the right choice, even if the Hawks' schedule won't quite let him leave.